Written Answers Tuesday 11 January 2005

Scottish Executive

Adult Literacy

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all funds allocated to community learning strategy partnerships for adult literacy and numeracy projects in 2001 were used for this purpose; if not, what steps will now be taken to ensure that the funds are so used, and what action will be taken against any local authority not using such funds for this purpose; whether funding for adult literacy and numeracy for 2006-08 will be allocated to community learning strategy partnerships, and whether such funding will be ring-fenced.

Allan Wilson: Our information is that the funds allocated to the partnerships since 2001 have been used for activities relating to adult literacy and numeracy.

  Funding for adult literacy and numeracy for 2006-2008 will be routed as previously through the GAE of local authorities and will not be ring-fenced. We anticipate that these funds will be allocated to the Community Learning Strategy Partnerships.

Health

Mr Duncan McNeil (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that its investment in improving public health is targeted at Scotland’s most deprived areas, as determined by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.

Rhona Brankin: Our health improvement policy aims to improve the health of all the people of Scotland but also to close the health gap. We have set within the 2004 Spending Review, a stretching and ambitious target to increase the rate of health improvement across a range of indicators for the most deprived communities by 15% by 2008. The indicators are: under 75 coronary heart disease mortality, under 75 cancer mortality, adults smoking, smoking during pregnancy, teenage pregnancy and suicides in young people. We will require NHS boards to step up action to tackle health inequalities, setting this in the wider context of community planning partnership health inequalities strategies. The Arbuthnott funding formula for NHS Scotland already takes account of levels of deprivation but we will expect NHS boards to move towards use of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation in determining the impact of their health inequalities actions locally.

Road Safety

Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide an update on the action that it intends to take to improve road safety at the A90 junctions around Laurencekirk.

Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive intends to introduce the following measures to improve road safety on the A90 at the Laurencekirk/Marykirk junctions:

  
The introduction of a 50mph speed limit over a 1,600 metre length of the A90 between Oatyhill and Johnstone Lodge.
The installation of a safety camera
The introduction of a 50mph speed limit over a 1,600 metre length of the A90 between Oatyhill and Johnstone Lodge.
The installation of advanced warning signs
The extension of high friction surfacing Renewal and relocation of the direction signs to Marykirk to assist visibility
Installation of verge markers 
Renewal of lining 
The clearance of vegetation


  These safety measures will be introduced as soon as possible and we are starting the necessary statutory procedures to reduce the speed limit to 50mph between Oatyhill and Johnstone Lodge immediately.

Scottish Executive Departments

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what estimate it has made of the cost of fraud to its departments in each of the last five years.

Mr Tom McCabe: The following table shows the amount of fraud by staff in the Scottish Executive’s core departments in each of the last five years; as reported under the Executive’s Fraud Response Plan.

  

Year
Fraud (£)


2003-04
0


2002-03
0


2001-02
187


2000-01
0


1999-2000
1,596



  Note: The amounts in the above table relate to fraudulent claims for travel and subsistence payments.

Swimming Pools

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many swimming pools in each local authority area are over 75 years old.

Patricia Ferguson: The information requested is set out in the following table. Although there are 13 pools over 75 years old, some such as Portobello Swimming Pool have been extensively refurbished. In any event, the owners and operators of swimming pools have a duty of care over users of the facility.

  

Local Authority
No. of pools


City of Edinburgh
5


Dundee City
1


Glasgow City
5


Inverclyde
1


Renfrewshire
1


 
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